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The Legal System
Discrimination, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) require states parties to submit periodic reports and other information requested to the United Nations (UN) treaty monitoring bodies. With the exception of the ICCPR, which does not apply to Mainland China, the HKSAR submits these reports as part of corresponding reports submitted by China and the HKSAR teams attend hearings of relevant treaty bodies as part of the Chinese delegation. In the case of the ICCPR, the HKSAR delegation attends hearings under the leadership of the Chinese Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the UN. The UN Human Rights Council conducts a Universal Periodic Review of human rights in all UN member states. The HKSAR submits its report as part of China's report for that review. In May and October 2014, HKSAR delegates attended hearings under the ICESCR and CEDAW respectively.
International Treaties and Agreements Applying to the HKSAR
Under the Basic Law, multilateral treaties can apply to the HKSAR. There are approximately 252 such treaties. In certain areas, the HKSAR can conclude its own bilateral agreements and 231 such agreements have been concluded. Lists of these treaties and agreements and the English. texts of the agreements are available on the internet, at www.doj.gov.hk/eng/laws/treaties.html.
Arbitration and Mediation
A main policy objective of the government is to promote Hong Kong as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia Pacific region. The Department of Justice works closely with the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the dispute resolution sectors in Hong Kong to improve the provision of legal, arbitration and mediation services in Hong Kong, and to promote Hong Kong as a regional centre for international legal and dispute resolution services. In December 2014, the Advisory Committee on Promotion of Arbitration was established to co-ordinate and advise on overall strategy.
HKSAR arbitral awards can be enforced in more than 150 jurisdictions that are parties to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The HKSAR has also entered into arrangements for reciprocal enforcement of arbitral awards with the Mainland and the Macao SAR
In 2011, a new Arbitration Ordinance took effect reforming the arbitration law of Hong Kong on the basis of the latest version of the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. In 2013, the ordinance was amended to include new provisions for reciprocal enforcement of arbitral awards between the HKSAR and the Macao SAR and for the judicial enforcement of relief granted by an emergency arbitrator before an arbitral tribunal is constituted, in line with the latest arbitration rules of many prominent arbitral institutions.
Four world-class arbitral institutions are established in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre provides comprehensive support services for dispute resolution in Hong Kong and the region. The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of
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